There are a variety of window coverings in which a window covering material extends from a headrail and is raised and lowered by lift cords or drawn along a track by pull cords. One type of window covering is the venetian blind in which a series of horizontal slats are hung on two or more ladders that hang from a headrail. A similar product is the vertical blind in which a set of vertical slats are suspended from a track in the headrail. Most manufacturers offer slats for venetian blinds and vertical blinds in a variety of colors and materials including wood, vinyl, aluminum and composite materials. Another class of window covering contains a panel of fabric, woven woods or woven grasses hung on a headrail. Among these window coverings are pleated shades, cellular shades, and roll-up shades. In most of these shades the fabric panel is available in a number of colors and patterns, can be woven or non-woven, and the weave can vary from sheer to tightly woven.
Traditionally, window coverings have been sold in standard sizes by department stores, discount stores and home centers. They have also been sold by custom fabricators who come to the home or office, measure the windows and make blinds to fit. In recent years some retailers have also sold custom blinds based upon measurements provided by the customer. These retailers keep a limited inventory of stock blinds in standard sizes and popular colors. If the customer does not want a blind from the retailer's current inventory, the retailer may custom order the blind from the manufacturer using the customer's measurements. Depending upon the source of supply it may take several days to several weeks for the custom blinds to arrive.
Stock blinds have a standard width and length and come in a limited number of colors and materials. In a stock blind, lift cords and tilt controls, if any, are in the same location on every blind. In a custom blind, the blind is made to have a length and width that corresponds to the size of the window opening. The customer may specify whether the lift cords and tilt control are to be on the left side or right side of the blind. The customer can often obtain a custom blind in colors not available in stock blinds. Other options may be available to the buyer of a custom blind that are not available in a standard or stock blind.
In recent years most of the standard sizes of window blinds sold through home centers and discount stores are manufactured outside the United States, most commonly in China and Mexico. While a very small amount of window coverings are made in the Orient to sizes specified by the retailer, the vast majority of blinds made overseas are stock blinds in standard sizes and a limited number of colors and materials. After the blind is made it must be shipped to the retailer or direct to the customer. Shipment is normally made by boat and truck from China and by truck from Mexico. Therefore, shipping time may consume several days or even weeks, As a result, it is quite common for a blind produced overseas to be delivered a month or more after the order has been placed. Of course one could shorten the shipping time by using air transportation, but the costs of air freight are so high as to make this option undesirable.
There are a number of custom blind fabricators throughout the United States who are quite capable of making the same window blinds as are being made in China and Mexico. Moreover, a domestic manufacturer can make any given blind in the same amount of time as the blind could be made overseas. Since these fabricators are much closer to the retailer, the time to deliver the product to the retailer or customer would be much shorter than the delivery time from Mexico or China. However, blind fabricators in the United States have higher costs and therefore must charge higher prices for the products that they make. Since nearly all the custom blinds are made in the United States and to a lesser extent in Mexico, custom blinds are sold at higher prices than stock blinds.
Many times a customer will find a stock blind that has the proper width to fit the window but is too long. That customer may choose to buy the stock blind at a lower price, and accept the fact that excess window covering material will be stacked on the window sill when the blind is fully lowered, rather than buy a custom blind with no excess window covering material at a higher price. That customer must also make a choice between getting the stock blind now or having the custom blind within a few days or weeks. Another concern is that many retailers who sell both stock blinds and custom blinds will not offer as a custom blind the same blind that is available as stock blind, and vice versa. Consequently if a customer likes a stock blind, but wants the blind made to meet his or her specifications, the retailer will tell the customer that such a custom made blind is not available. If the customer wants a custom blind he or she must select a blind having a different fabric, headrail, or bottomrail from those in the stock blind.
Most retailers know that for many products it is easier to make a sale of that product by offering a discount rather than to sell the product at standard or premium prices. A customer who has received a discount is often much happier than one who has paid the standard price. But, discounts can cut profit margin unless the discount is based upon a lower price from the manufacturer of the discounted item.
Consequently, there is a need for a method of manufacturing and selling custom window coverings that will allow the retailer to sell the same window covering product at a standard or premium price if the product is delivered quickly, and at a discount or lower price if the customer is willing to wait longer for the product.